Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at UTEP Miners
· NCAA Men's Basketball
Watson scores 23 as UTEP beats Middle Tennessee 83-80 in OT
Watson also contributed seven rebounds for the Miners (5-10, 1/3 Conference USA). Elijah Jones scored 20 points while shooting 8 for 12 (2 for 3 from 3-point range) with three blocks. Jamal West shot 6 of 15 to finish with 16 points.
KJ Thomas added 11 points, five rebounds and four assists, while LA Hayes had a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double with three steals off the bench.
Chris Loofe finished with 16 points and seven rebounds for the Blue Raiders (9-6, 3-1) before fouling out. Sean Smith also had 16 points, along with four assists and two steals for Middle Tennessee. Kamari Lands also recorded 12 points.
Watson scored 11 points in the first half and UTEP went into halftime trailing 44-37. After trailing by nine points in the second half, UTEP went on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 66-66 with 4:28 remaining. Jones put the Miners up by two with 41 seconds left before Smith tied the game on his own layup with 28 seconds left.
Jones scored four straight points in overtime to give the Miners a lead they never relinquished. Jones scored 11 second-half points.
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Recent Plays
| 3rd 0:00 | End of Game | 80 - 83 |
| 3rd 0:00 | End of 1st OT | 80 - 83 |
| 3rd 0:00 | Jamal West Jr. Defensive Rebound. | 80 - 83 |
| 3rd 0:00 | Sean Smith misses 34-foot three point jumper | 80 - 83 |
| 3rd 0:02 | Kaseem Watson makes free throw 2 of 2 | 80 - 83 |
Statistics
 MTSU |
 UTEP |
|
|---|---|---|
| 28-59 | FG | 25-58 |
| 47 | Field Goal % | 43 |
| 9-25 | 3PT | 8-19 |
| 36 | Three Point % | 42 |
| 15-17 | FT | 25-36 |
| 88 | Free Throw % | 69 |
| 32 | Rebounds | 38 |
| 7 | Offensive Rebounds | 13 |
| 25 | Defensive Rebounds | 25 |
| 14 | Assists | 13 |
| 5 | Steals | 5 |
| 4 | Blocks | 4 |
| 12 | Turnovers | 9 |
| 3 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 12 | Total Turnovers | 9 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 4 | Points Off Turnovers | 14 |
| 12 | Fast Break Points | 16 |
| 32 | Points in Paint | 30 |
| 28 | Fouls | 16 |
| 13 | Largest Lead | 4 |
| 5 | Lead Changes | 5 |
| 79 | Percent Led | 11 |
Game Information
Location: El Paso, TX
Attendance: 4,368 | Capacity:
2025-26 Conference USA Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 9-0 | - | 17-3 |
| Missouri State | 6-3 | 3 | 12-8 |
| Middle Tennessee | 5-3 | 3.5 | 11-8 |
| Jacksonville State | 5-3 | 3.5 | 10-9 |
| Sam Houston | 5-4 | 4 | 13-7 |
| Louisiana Tech | 4-4 | 4.5 | 11-8 |
| Kennesaw State | 4-5 | 5 | 12-8 |
| Western Kentucky | 4-5 | 5 | 11-9 |
| New Mexico State | 3-6 | 6 | 10-9 |
| Florida International | 3-6 | 6 | 10-10 |
| UTEP | 3-6 | 6 | 7-13 |
| Delaware | 1-7 | 7.5 | 5-14 |